Kwella, Patrizia (1953– )

British soprano of Polish-Italian parentage. She studied at the Royal College of Music, London and appeared with John Eliot Gardiner at the 1979 London Prom concerts. She later sang with Richard Hickox, Christopher Hogwood, and Trevor Pinnock. Her US debut was in San Diego in 1983. At the 1985 Aldeburgh Festival she sang in the first performance of Night's Mask, by Colin Matthews, and in 1985 performed Handel's Alcina at the Spitalfields and Cheltenham Festivals. She is much valued for her interpretations of Handel (as Esther and in L'Allegro and La Resurrezione), Bach (the B minor Mass), and Monteverdi (Orfeo).